One of Our Own
by Who wrote this crap
Summary: Zoro froze as a shiver ran down his spine. He had to get Chopper…but he couldn't leave Usopp alone...not like this. Rated T language, blood, death
1. It Happened So Suddenly

Diclaimer: I do not own these characters, Oda does. But you all knew that already didn't you?

Now, without further ado,

One of Our Own

5:50 Zoro had ten minutes left till his shift ended. He had been up for the past six hours keeping watch. Given that wasn't all he did. For most of the night he had been working out, but every hundred push-ups he would stop and take five minutes to fulfill his watchman duty and stare at the empty ocean. But now the sun was beginning to rise and in ten minutes he could call it a night and head down to get some sleep. By then Brooke would be up, he could watch the ship. He was going to be up on deck anyway 'to greet the morning sun'. Fifteen minutes after that, the cook would be up to start making breakfast. And by 6:30 Brooke would wake everyone else up with one of his Morning Songs. Still he had ten more minutes of water watching left.

Zoro sighed and lean against one of the glass windows that surrounded the crow's nest when something caught his eye. He peered down at the bow.

"Usopp?"

The sniper was sitting on the figurehead of the Sunny Go, looking out to sea.

"What the hell is he doing?"

Zoro couldn't think of any reason why the marksman would be up this early, and or why he would be sitting there of all places. He couldn't remember ever seeing the sniper sitting on the figure head- that was Luffy's spot.

… But if Usopp was up then he could quit early and actually get more than a half hour of sleep before Brooke broke out into song. Zoro climbed down the mast and headed for the bow to inform Usopp of his new duty.

"Oi, Usopp!"

The sniper turned around to see his green-haired nakama walking up to him.

"Zoro what are you doing up this early?" Usopp asked him getting down from Luffy's spot.

"I was on watch last night" the swordsman told him. Zoro leaned against the wall behind the figurehead. He looked the sniper in the eye and asked him "Why are you up?"

"I'm -I'm up because" the liar looked around nervously, "...I… wanted to see the sunrise!"

"Sure" Zoro looked him over "And you're still in your pajamas because…?"

Usopp looked down like he forgot that all he was wearing was a pair of bed shorts and the t-shirt with crudely drawn… things on it that Luffy and Chopper had made him. The only reason Zoro recalled this bit of information was because of how happy Chopper got whenever he put it on. And the fact that Luffy wouldn't stop bragging about how 'awesome' it was whenever Usopp wore it -which was only to bed.

"A man can't watch the sunrise in his pajamas?" the liar reasoned "Jeeze Zoro, you need to lighten up!"

Zoro smirked. While it was easy to tell he was lying Zoro had to admit, his lies were getting more convincing. A cold breeze pasted over the ship. Usopp looked up at the sky.

"I hope it doesn't rain today."

"It might rain. It could snow. Hell it could rain snow. This is the Grand Line after all." Zoro stated.

Usopp smiled "Did you know that cows can predict the weather?"

Zoro looked at him "What?"

"I heard that you can tell if the weather's going to be bad if a herd of cows are all grouped together" Usopp said sincerely.

"...What?" Zoro asked again.

"Yeah and you can tell if it's going to rain if all the cows lay down."

Zoro stared at him like he was crazy. Then he looked over at the women's quarters.

"Huh… Does that make Nami part cow?" Zoro said grinning.

_Thud_

Zoro turned around to see Usopp lying on the deck clutching his chest.

"Usopp?"

The sniper began shaking uncontrollably.

"Usopp!" Zoro cried running to his side. "Oi Usopp! Look at me! What's wron-"

Usopp's hands were covered with blood.

_What the Hell? …Had he been shot?_

"What happened?"

Usopp let out something between a choke and a cough. He started gasping. The sniper was panicking so badly he could hardly breathe.

"Usopp look at me!"

Fortunately, Usopp managed to focus long enough to pry open his eyes and look at him.

"Usopp you need to calm down okay?" Zoro said looking into Usopp's terrified eyes.

"How?" Usopp wheezed painfully.

"Take a breath and hold it for one second. Then take another and hold it for two seconds. Then just keep holding your breath for two seconds okay?"

Usopp nodded and began holding his breath.

"That's it…Just keep breathing"

To Zoro's relief the sniper was able to get his breathing under control. But when Zoro looked back down blood was practically pouring out from beneath the snipers hands. Shit! He had hadn't realized he was bleeding that badly! Forgetting to warn him, Zoro put his hands over Usopp's and pressed them down harder.

"GAAHHH!" Usopp gasped in pain, "Stop!"

"We need to apply pressure to stop the bleeding!" Zoro said over Usopp's gasps and strangled cries of agony. "Just hang in there! You're going to be alright!"

"God Zoro" Usopp choked as tears of pain and fear began to stream down his face "It hurts!"

"Good, as long as you can feel pain, you're alive! …It's working. See? The bleeding's already beginning to slow down!" Zoro assured him "You're going to be okay."

Usopp shook he head and cried "I don't think-… I'm trying but-…"

Zoro looked him in the eye "You not going to die." He told him in a voice that left no room for argument.

Despite his words Zoro could already feel his knees beginning to get soaked from the pool of blood that had begun to form around them. He had to stop the bleeding now! Usopp had already lost more than enough blood that it would take to kill an average human. It was incredible that he was still alive let alone conscious. Then again Luffy's crew was anything but average.

Nevertheless Zoro needed to get help.

He needed to get Usopp straight to Chopper, but moving him in this condition would make the bleeding worse, and considering the amount of blood he had already lost- he would probably die before he could…. He was going to have to get Chopper and bring him here.

"Hold on Usopp I'll be right back." Zoro assured him, standing up. He was about to run off as fast as he could to get the doctor, when he felt a tug on his leg.

"Please…please don't go." Usopp choked with tears trailing down his face, begging him with frightened eyes.

"I don't want to be alone."

Zoro froze as a shiver ran down his spine. A sinking feeling began to fester deep within him. He knew what the sniper was really trying to tell him. How could he not when the sound of absolute defeat echoed in his voice. He had to get Chopper…but he couldn't leave Usopp alone...not like this.

Not knowing what else to do Zoro took a deep breath and yelled "CHOPPER! CHOPPER GET UP HERE NOW!" as loud as he possibly could.

Thinking that at least somebody must have heard him, he knelt beside his frightened comrade and held his hand.

"I'm not going anywhere" Zoro promised.

Blinking back more tears, the sniper nodded and let out a shaky breath.

"But you got to keep talking alright?"

"…"

"_Alright?_"

Usopp swallowed, "Okay….what do you want me to say?"

Zoro thought quickly, "Tell me a story."

Usopp huffed "But you hate my stories" he said looking away from the swordsman.

"No I don't"

"Liar"

"Usopp look at me!"

Reluctantly the sniper turned his head to him. Zoro looked him in the eye.

"I don't hate your stories" he told him "I think they're ridiculous, but I don't hate them."

The lair gave him a small smile.

"Ah what a beautiful morning!" Brooke announced as he stepped out onto the lawn deck.

Zoro stood up, making the skeleton notice him, "Oh Zoro-san, I heard you screaming earlier. Is everything al-" That's when he noticed Zoro's shirt was covered with blood. "What hap-"

"Brooke I need you to get Chopper NOW!" Zoro ordered him urgently.

"But what-"

"NOW!"

"Hai!" the skeleton ran inside the men's quarters. Zoro looked to the deck below knowing that any second now he would see Chopper running out onto the lawn. And just as he expected the men's door flew open, but only Brooke came out.

"He's not in the bedroom!" Brooke said panicking.

_GODDAMN IT! _

"THEN FIND HIM!"

Brooke panicked having no idea where to even begin to look, but found himself running towards the infirmary, franticly shouting Chopper's name at the top of his lungs…-even though physically he didn't have lungs. Skull joke.

Trying to ignore the feeling of dread that was accumulating within him, Zoro turned his attention back to his fallen comrade, who looked back at him pale, in pain, and confused.

"Zoro, I can't- I can't remember any- …I can't think strai-" Suddenly he was forced into a violent coughing fit that immediately had him gasping and struggling for every painful breath. Zoro quickly, but with the greatest of care, slipped his arm behind his back and held his friend up so he could breathe. It was only when Zoro felt a steady stream of blood flowing down his arm that he realized to his horror that whatever he was shot with had gone straight through him! Fuck! He had been bleeding to death this whole time! In desperation, Zoro ripped his black bandana from his arm, and shoved it against the gushing wound to stop the bleeding. Usopp gasped, which only caused him to cough harder, until he became too breathless and too weak to scream. All he could do was trembling in agonizing pain.

After the coughing had subsided, the sniper leaned back into his arms, completely exhausted and weaker than ever. Zoro looked over to the deck. Where the Hell was Chopper?

Looking back down at Usopp he saw- to his horror- that the sniper was beginning to close his eyes. He couldn't keep the panic out of his voice.

"Oi, Oi! " he said lightly shaking his comrade. Usopp weakly opened his eyes, to Zoro's relief.

"You got to stay awake, okay? Keep talking to me. Chopper will be here any second now."

The sniper couldn't hear him. He wasn't even looking at him, now. Instead he stared up at the magnificent morning sky with dulling eyes. Taking deep breaths the sniper softly told him

"…Actually… I think I'm okay…"

The corners of his mouth twitched into a weak smile.

"…Really….It doesn't even hurt anymore…"

The sniper fell silent. He didn't move. He didn't breath.

And all Zoro could do was stare.

_What the hell just happened?_ Zoro thought numbly. They were talking about the weather and then …something happened, and now…

Zoro was brought out of his stunned trance by the sound of footsteps running up behind him.

"He wasn't in the infirmary, dining room, or kitchen- so I called for him over the intercom." Brooke reported "He should be here momentari…ly …" Brooke froze behind the swordsman, as he took in the scene that was set before him. What he saw literally chilled him to the bone, so much that he started shaking.

_Is that? … Is he? …How did? …_ The skeleton couldn't believe his eyes…even though physically...he didn't have any….skull…joke….

Regaining his composer, Zoro closed his eyes and gently laid Usopp back onto the deck. He looked into his nakama's now lifeless eyes one last time, before passing his hand over his face- closing them forever.

Somewhere in the distance he heard a door slam open. And urgent cries of 'I'M HERE! I'M HERE!' filled the air, accompanied by a familiar crew of concerned voices.

Zoro closed his eyes and stood up.

"I need to talk to Luffy" he stated, his voice frightfully calm.

He looked at Brooke and with a solemn voice told him

"The others don't need to see this"

Although he was still trembling with shock, the musician nodded, fully understanding what he was being asked to do. That being said, Zoro, forcing himself to move forward, turned and walked down to the grassy deck. Halfway down the steps the others, who were still in their nightwear and robes, spotted him.

"Ahhh! Zoro, you're bleeding!" the little reindeer ran over to him, bandages in hand.

"I'm fine Chopper" Zoro said in a voice so heavy and dark that it stopped the doctor in his tracks, and caused everyone to look at him in a state of momentary speechlessness.

Until Sanji demanded to know "Well then what the hell was so important that you had to wake us all up?"

He walked over to them, "I need to talk to Luffy" he said in the same heavy voice.

Zoro looked his captain in the eye then gestured for him to follow. Luffy nodded understanding the seriousness of the situation. Without a word, Luffy followed his first mate over to the grass-covered hatch.

"Wait! If it's not your blood then at least tell us whose it is!" Nami ordered.

Zoro opened the hatch and gestured for Luffy to go down the ladder first, he did so.

"Zoro!"

Ignoring them, Zoro climbed down into the hatch and shut the door.

They climbed down to the lowest deck of the ship, where the Soldier Dock System was. From there Luffy silently followed Zoro down the path that only led to Usopp's Factory. Zoro opened the door to Usopp's workshop, and once again let Luffy to go in first. Zoro paused for a moment to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to do. After taking a deep breath, he stepped inside, and closed the door behind him.

Okay, that's the beginning. Let me know if you want me to continue on with the story. If I get the right reviews I will certainly add more chapters.


	2. What's Wrong

Okay I'm free today so I'll put up a chapter. Thanks for the reviews so far I hope I don't let you guys down. But I would like to know how many people are reading this story so if you could please just take a moment and post a "Me" or "I am" or something in a review- it'll help me determine when would be a good time to update.

Once again I do not own any of these characters

And so, without further ado;

**One of Our Own**

_ What's Wrong_

Zoro was freaking them out.

"Why won't he answer us?" Chopper wondered, looking at his nakama for answers.

"He appears to be upset" Robin noted.

"Yeah, but what exactly is that marimo so upset about?" Sanji asked. He scanned the deck to see if he could find the cause of the baka's strange behavior. As he glanced behind him, he was surprised to see Brooke staring at them from the upper level on the bow.

"Brooke!" Sanji announced.

Having been spotted, Brooke slowly made his way halfway down the steps then stopped uncharacteristically quiet.

"Oi Brooke! You wouldn't happen to know what's up with swords-bro?" Franky asked making his way to the stairs.

Brooke held up his hands "Please do not come any closer" he requested when Franky planted his foot on the first step.

"What? Why?" Franky asked.

Now Sanji came over to them, "Why can't we go up the stairs? What's up there?" Sanji asked as he started climbing the stairs, completely ignoring Brooke's request to stay back. Brooke extended his arms blocking the cook from going passed him.

"OOOWWWAAAHHHHRRRR!"

A wail of absolute devastation erupted somewhere deep within the ship.

Instantly everyone's eyes shot to the ground as an overwhelming sense of alarm raced through their hearts.

"…Luffy?" Nami gasped.

Okay, that was it. Now Sanji had to know what was up there. Disregarding the skeletons warnings, he pushed passed the musician and ran onto the upper deck.

"No wait!" Brooke called after Sanji, unintentionally getting the attention of everyone behind him.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami yelled racing over to see what was going on.

The second Sanji got onto the deck he started looking for what the hell could have caused all of this. Needless to say, it didn't take him long to find it. However, the moment he realized what it was-who it was his heart stopped and a wave of numbness washed through him like a blast of cold water. _It couldn't be…It's not… He's not_…

"Sanji-kun what is it?" Nami asked him from below.

Sanji didn't answer.

"Sanji-kun?" Nami tried again starting to get scared.

Sanji ignored her.

Now Nami as well as everyone else were becoming more and more alarmed with every second she went unnoticed.

"Sanji-kun?" Nami screamed desperately.

Sanji walked away.

Sanji couldn't hear her- let along think. He was just too overwhelmed to do anything other than stare. Without realizing what he was doing, Sanji found himself walking over to the lifeless form of his nakama.

He wasn't breathing.

Sanji knelt down and touched his face.

But his face was still warm.

He put his hand on his heart.

He felt nothing.

But… how? Sanji wondered. Then he noticed that his hand was wet… with blood. …Oh… How did he miss that? How could he possibly miss something that was... well… _everywhere_?

"Oi Robin, can you use your ability to tell us what the hell is up there?" Franky asked her.

"Please don't!" Brooke begged her.

Chopper was about to (for the fifth time) ask him 'why' when-

"Who did this?" a trembling voice asked from behind Brooke.

Brooke turned around "Wha-"

Sanji grabbed Brooke by his shirt and slammed him against the railing.

"WHO THE FUCK DID THIS?" the chief screamed with angry tears running down his face.

"I- I -I" the stunned skeleton stuttered.

"TELL ME!" Sanji demanded as he slammed him against the railing again.

"Sanji stop!"

"I don't know!" Brooke confessed.

"Let him go!"

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I wasn't up here when it happened! I was just going to get my violin, when I heard Zoro yelling." the musician explained "So I went upstairs to ask him what was wrong and he told me to get Chopper- that's all I know!"

Breathing heavily, Sanji glared at the skeleton as if trying to decide if he was telling the truth- which was hard to do since the guy didn't have a face. After a minute or two, the chief made up his mind, and let him go. Brooke sighed sinking to the steps, thinking that the cook's rampage was over when-

"ZORO! GET THE FUCK UP HERE NOW!" Sanji screamed yanking open the hatch.

He had every intention climbing down there to get the bastard, when Franky slammed the hatch shut in front of him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up bro! Tell us what's got you feeling so not super."

"Get out of the way Franky." Sanji warned him. Short on patience, he was about to kick the guy when he felt a slender hand grip his arm.

"At least tell us what you saw before you go prancing down there." Nami said moving in front of him.

The cook fell silent and looked away as his nakama stared at him waiting for an answer. How could he tell them? How could he possibly tell his that just this morning they had lost one of their own _forever_? But before Sanji could come up with an answer, Chopper voiced a sudden thought.

"Where's Usopp?" he asked to no one in particular, looking around the deck.

Robin, Franky, and Nami, turned around.

"He's not here." Robin observed

A horrifying epiphany instantly rippled through the minds of the crew. In that moment everything came together. Sanji's outburst, Zoro's reticence, Luffy's screams, Brooke's restrictiveness … the blood. It all made sense… But –but that couldn't be it! Because things like that didn't happen to this crew! …They couldn't happen….right?

"Oh my God!" Chopper yelp in sudden realization "Usopp doesn't know that something's wrong! I'll go get him!"

Chopper ran to the door to downstairs.

"…Should we stop him?" Brooke asked as he walked over to them.

"No." Sanji mumbled.

Nami's head shot up, "You mean-?" she pointed to the bow. Panic transpired through here voice "He's not- He's not up there is he?" She asked him.

"Yeah" he whispered solemnly. Sanji looked down unable to bear the desperate look on his beloved Nami-san's face.

"But he's okay right?" She insisted even though she could feel dread trickling down her spine. "Because if he's not we could get Chopper and-"

Sanji shook his head "No… It's too late for that..." his voice trembled horribly. He raised his head and looked her in the eye.

"He's gone" He rasped with tears streaming down his face.

Nami brought a hand to her mouth "He can't be!" she whispered.

"W-what?" Franky stammered, suddenly finding it hard to breath.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Long nose was a super tough guy. He should know-having personally beaten the crap out of him and all. True he hadn't been with the crew for very long, but even he knew that- while Long nose might not have been the greatest fighter, he sure was one hell of a survivor.

With that thought in mind, Franky walked over to the steps and started to climb. He had to prove them wrong. There's no way that guy could be dead! He couldn't have died without them knowing-so he had to be alive! But Franky had only made it halfway up the stairs when he noticed a trickle of blood dripping off the side of the deck. Suddenly he didn't feel so super. Franky sank onto the steps as a wave of nausea overwhelmed him. Putting his elbows on his knees, he ran his fingers through his hair. Denial was fading and was soon replaced with a gut-wrenching realization. Until it finally sunk in.

The kid's gone…

He's gone forever.

He's dead.

That's when Franky started to crying.

Knowing something like this could happen and believing something like this could happen were two entirely different things. Nami always knew that dying was a real possibility… especially for her and Usopp...they were the only people in the crew who didn't have monster strength or the power of a devil's fruit to help them. They realized a long time ago that they would have to rely solely on their wit to survive…and that scared the hell out of them….But as time went on that terror had begun to fade, well, for her anyway. She started to believe that, after everything they've been through, after everything they've survived, this crew could-no- _would _survive anything. So… how could Usopp be dead?

_He couldn't be! _She decided. She had to see him for herself.

Sanji noticed that Nami-san had been staring at the upper deck. So when she turned to go up there, he immediately grabbed hold of her wrist. She spun around to see who was trying to stop her, and was about to tell him to let go, when she saw the look on Sanji's face.

"Nami-san, you don't want to see him," he told her "Trust me" he added softly.

It was only when Nami truly saw the utterly defeated look in Sanji's eye, that the idea that Usopp was dead really started to sink in, and she realized.

She was never going to see him again...

She lost it. Right then and there she broke down crying. She was crying so hard that she was only slightly aware that somebody was holding her.

At this point everyone was crying.

Robin was no exception. She was crying silently. There was no doubt in her mind that the sniper king was dead, death was something she found easy to believe. However, that didn't stop her from using her ability to see him one last time, when nobody was looking. Now she stared out at the sea and wondered whether or not she would regret that.

A door burst open and Chopper came out running onto the deck.

"He's not in the aquarium bar, or the kitchen, or the sick bay. I keep calling him, but he's not answering me. Maybe-…maybe he's in the shower and can't hear me over the running water! That's why he's not answering me!" Chopper concluded enthusiastically.

The cheerful certainty in Chopper's voice only made the grieving crewmates cry harder. But Chopper's smile disappeared the moment he noticed the state his nakama were in.

"Why is everybody crying?" Chopper asked his voice now soft and concerned "What's wrong?"

Nobody answered him. How could they answer him? They knew how close Chopper was to Usopp - how much he looked up to him. And to tell him that he was dead …the news would crush him. And none of them wanted to be the one to break his heart.

"Brooke" Chopper asked tugging on his pants leg, "What happened?"

Having been singled out, Brooke decided that he would be the one to bear the burden of breaking the news to the youngest crewmate. Wiping his tears away with his sleeve, Brooke cleared his nonexistent throat. He got down in front of Chopper, so he could speak to him skull to face. Chopper just looked at him, nervous and confused.

"We lost someone" Brooke told him gently.

"What? Who?" Chopper asked frantically looking around the ship.

He looked at him sadly, and softy told him "Usopp"

"…Did you check the showers?"

Brooke hung his head and tried to think of another way to tell him.

"He doesn't get it." Franky interjected wiping his nose on his arm as he walked down the stairs.

"Get what? What don't I get?" Chopper asked looking back between Brooke and Franky

"Chopper" Brooke tried again "Usopp's gone"

"Gone?" Chopper looked at him with frightful eyes " Whe-Where did he go?"

Brooke sighed. One would think that explaining death to a doctor would for the most part be easy- especially if the one doing the explaining was already dead. Regardless, Brooke was still determined to make this as painless for him as possible.

"Brooke, I don't think your euphemisms are working very well." Robin said feeling the need to point out the obvious.

Chopper looked at her with tears in his eyes fearing the worst "He didn't- He didn't quit, did he? Cause he said he would never do that again!" the reindeer cried, starting to get upset "He-He promised!"

"No Chopper he didn't… quit" Brooke said uncertainly.

Chopper started to calm down. "He's not quitting?" he asked.

Brooke didn't know how to answer that. While Usopp really didn't quit, he would still not be with them. So Brooke told him.

"No, but he's not going to be around anymore."

"What? Why?" Chopper asked with wide tearful eyes.

"GOD DAMN IT BROOKE JUST TELL HIM!" Nami yelled into Sanji's shoulder.

Robin sighed and while the reindeer was still looking at Nami she gently told him.

"He's dead."

Chopper's head shot back to face her.

"What?" Chopper asked not sure he had heard her right.

"He passed away this morning." she told him.

Chopper froze as he experienced the same cold numbness of shock and grief that had plagued the rest of the crew when they found out.

"But…how?" Chopper asked as he felt his world come crashing down around him "He seemed fine last night! Did-did he get sick? Did I miss something?"

"No Chopper he didn't get sick." Brooke told him

"Are you sure?" Chopper sobbed on the verge of hysteria.

Brooke looked over at the bow, remembering the gruesome sight that would mentally scarred anyone who got too close. "Oh yes, I'm sure…." Brooke noticed that the crying doctor was still looking at him for an explanation so he awkwardly continued trying not to describe anything that would give the young child nightmares. "He was … injured"

Sanji scoffed "Way to sugarcoat it" He glared at him over Nami's trembling shoulders.

The devastated doctor was still looking at him, trying to choke back sobs. He was doing his best not to get hysterical before his questions were answered, because- because once he started crying openly, he didn't know if he would ever be able to stop. Brooke awkwardly continued to explain.

"There was-…He was-…He had a chest wound-"

"He looked like he'd been shot." Sanji said bluntly, getting pissed at the skeleton for making it sound like Usopp's death was pathetically weak.

"He was shot?" Chopper said with wide eyes "But- but I can fix those! Why didn't someone come get me? Why didn't he-…unless…" A horrify thought struck him. Chopper took a shaky breath and looked at his crewmates absolutely dreading what he might hear when he asked what had to be the most awful question he could think of.

"He didn't-" Chopper swallowed "…He didn't die alone…did he?"

Everyone but Brooke looked at each other realizing that they had no idea whether or not their nakama spent his last moments of life alone. A sudden wave of dread washed over them at the thought that while they slept, Usopp was in pain, dying alone with no one to comfort him, no one to help him, waiting for someone to come, or for death to take him.

"No" Brook told them to their relief "Zoro made sure of that."

The little reindeer nodded and tried to smile.

Chopper choked "Thank-thank-good-ness"

He burst out into a river of tears. The poor guy couldn't repress his grief any longer. He cried his heart out; wailing in despair as the empty feeling of loss consumed him. And, for the second time in his life, he experienced the unrivaled agony of feeling his heart break. Listening to their nakama's seemingly endless cries of devastation, caused the rest of the crew to break out into new waves of tears.

As Chopper cried his heart out, he felt a boney hand rest on his shoulder. It was all the invitation the little reindeer needed. Chopper flung his arms around the skeleton; in return, the crying musician lifted him up into a hug. And with his head buried against his nakama's empty chest, all Chopper could think about was how wonderful all of his nakama are…. But this only made him cry harder than ever.


	3. You Cry

Thanks for the reviews. I still would like to know how many people are reading this story so please keep on reviewing. I think I'll be uploading monthly. Hopefully this will satisfy you until then.

_You Cry_

The crew wept. Nobody said anything. Somehow everyone knew that no words of comfort could ever ease the pain of their loss. However, their mourning was interrupted when the kitchen door slammed open.

"Everybody get inside!"

The captain ordered them shakily with his straw hat tilted forward covering his eyes. The crew just stared at him, anticipating ….something.

"NOW!" Luffy yelled in a broken voice.

The crew jolted out of whatever trance that had taken hold of them just then, and obediently made their way up the steps to the kitchen dining room. Luffy stood against the railing in front of the door so his crew could get into the kitchen. He was facing away from them, staring out at the bow. Silently the crew entered the dining room. Inside, standing in the back of the room was Zoro-his expression-unreadable. As soon as everyone was inside, Luffy turned around still not reviling his face.

"Stay inside" was all Luffy said before he left them, heading for the bow. Zoro followed him, but the second before he stepped out of the room, Luffy stopped.

"You too Zoro" he ordered him in a cold serious voice.

As soon as he heard the kitchen door close behind him, he continued forward

to his fallen nakama.

"_Usopp" Luffy whispered shaking his sleeping friend, tying to wake him up. "Hey, Usopp!"_

"_Wha?" Usopp mumble sleepily opening his eyes._

"_Get up! It's time to start getting ready for the secret pool party!" Luffy whisper excitedly _

"_Pool party?" Usopp asked groggily. "Oh, yeah! The pool party!" He sat up now wide awake. He got out of his suspended bed being extremely careful not to wake any of the others up._

"_Let's wake Chopper" Luffy said tiptoeing over to the reindeer's bed. He leaned directly over Choppers sleeping form and was about to whisper 'Wake up!' into his ear when a hand clasped over his mouth._

"_Wait!" Usopp whispered. Luffy looked at him quizzically, "You can't just whisper into his ear like that! It'll freak him out and he'll scream, which will wake everyone else up and ruin the surprise! You have to shake him gently" the sniper enlightened him "Like this" Usopp put his hand on the reindeer's small leg and gently shook him, "Chopper…Chopper wake up" the sniper whispered softly at the foot of his bed. Chopper stirred._

"_Hmmm?" The reindeer lifted his head up and opened his eyes. _

"_It's time to commence Captain Usopp's Operation: Secret Pool Party!" the liar whispered with gusto_

_Chopper's eye shot open "That's right! We're doing that today!" Chopper said slightly louder than a whisper._

_A "SHHHH!" came from both his crewmates_

"_You have to be quiet or you'll ruin the surprise!" Luffy warned him wisely_

_Chopper immediately put his hooves over his mouth and glanced nervously at his sleeping nakama. _

"_Yosh! First thing's, first! " Luffy stated beating his hand into his palm "We need to get our beach clothes and swimming gear."_

"_Without waking anyone up!" Chopper added_

"_Which won't be a problem for I, the Great Captain Usopp, having psychically foreseen this predicament, had already gathered all of our supplies last night!" boasted the long-nosed pirate. Usopp walked over to the couch that was covered by a sheet. Dramatically, he torn away the obscuration revealing all of their bathing suits, swimming gear, as well as other things that they forgot about, such as beach towels and sunblock._

"_Awesome!" Luffy beamed elated that everything was off to a great start._

"_You're psychic?" Chopper exclaimed in a whisper with sparkles in his eyes_

"_But of course!" said the liar "I saved an entire country from catastrophe using my psychic abilities. And I will tell you all about my adventure in the Island of Raining Light- but first we need to get our stuff and get down stairs before anyone else wakes up."_

"_Oh right!" Chopper said snapping out of his entrancement. The little reindeer scurry over to the couch after his comrades. _

"_Here Chopper, you can carry these!" Luffy said holding up half a dozen goggles. _

"_Okay!" Chopper reached for them but Luffy raised them out of his reach._

"_No not like that" Luffy told the confused doctor, "Like this!"_

_Luffy took a pair of goggles and hung them off the reindeer's antlers. _

_Usopp grinned "Hey, I want to help!" Luffy gave him some goggles and together they decorated Chopper with a variety of different colored swim-specs, until all the goggles were hanging off the reindeer like Christmas ornaments._

"_There!" _

"_Wait a second, Luffy! It's missing one last thing" Usopp reached over and grabbed Luffy's swim shorts and pulled them down over Chopper's hat. Then they took a step back to admire their work._

"_Perfect" Usopp declared_

"_Yep!" Luffy agreed with a wide smile_

"_I wanna see! I wanna see! Where's a mirror?" Chopper swung his head to the side too fast and simultaneously all of the goggles smacked him in the head. _

_Clank! _

"_Pff!" Usopp and Luffy quickly covered their mouths to keep themselves from bursting out into a fit out laughter._

"_Ow" Chopper said rubbing his forehead._

"_Let's" Usopp gasped trying to regain some composure "Let's go outside!" he pointed to the exit._

_Luffy nodded knowing he wouldn't be able to hold back his laughter if he opened his mouth. They gathered the remaining supplies into two pillowcases, then, being as quiet as they possible could, snuck out the bedroom door. The second they were on the deck Usopp turned to his fellow conspirators, held a finger to his lips and pointed to the crow's nest. The other two nodded understandingly. They would have to be super quiet when they crossed the lawn to get to the hatch. They were up before sunrise, so it was still dark out, chances were that whoever was in the crow's nest wouldn't see them sneaking across the lawn IF they didn't make a sound-that is._

_Once they got to the hatch Usopp carefully opened the door and let his two friends go down first. Then he, himself, climbed down the ladder and quietly shut the door. Once the door was shut Luffy let go of the ladder and fell to the bottom deck unharmed. _

"_Chopper let go! I'll catch you!" Luffy told him_

"_Okay" Chopper said. Trusting his nakama completely, he let go of the ladder._

_And just as Luffy promised, he caught the reindeer, goggles, swim shorts and all_

_As for Usopp he held onto the sides of the ladder and slid down to the deck below with ease. _

"_Alright men!" Usopp punched a fist into the air "To the Preparation Room!"_

"_Yosh" the other two exclaimed mimicking the sniper's hand gesture._

_With that, they raced off to Usopp's Factory. Once inside they dumped the party supplies in the middle of the room. _

"_Right! Today we execute Captain Usopp's Operation: Secret Pool Party!" the liar exclaimed "Luffy!"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_What is the first step to successfully executing Captain Usopp's Operation: Secret Pool Party?"_

"_Tell everyone about the pool party!" Luffy answered confidently. Usopp shook his head._

"_No Luffy" he sighed "Chopper you remember the first step don't you?"_

"_Get everything set up?" Chopper suggested_

"_Right! Then what do we do?"_

"_Wake everyone up!"_

"_No Luffy. Chopper tell Luffy why don't we want to wake everyone up."_

"_It will irritate everybody and they won't be in the mood for a pool party?"_

"_Exactly! Now, when do we tell them about the pool party?" _

"_Tonight!" _

"…_."_

"_Chopper?"_

"_After breakfast?"_

"_Right! Luffy, right after breakfast you are to announce to everyone that today we will be having a pool party-"_

"_And a Barbeque!"_

_Usopp looked at him "A barbeque? Where did that come fr- never mind" he sighed "Okay, right after breakfast you are to announce to everyone that today we will be having a pool party __**and**__ a barbeque."_

_Luffy beamed._

"_And that everyone needs to get their swim suits on and come to the bottom deck." The sniper finished_

"_Yosh! Let's set things up!" Luffy exclaimed reaching for a beach chair_

"_Wait a sec Luffy, before we do anything we need to make sure we have everything we need." Usopp explained as he pulled out a list "9 beach towels!"_

"_Check!" Chopper said under a bundle of towels _

" _3 bottles of waterproof sun block!"_

"_Check!"_

"_9 pairs of goggles!"_

"_Check!"_

"_Hammer's inflatable safety gear!"_

"_Check!" Luffy said holding up inflatable duck tubes and blow-up rafts_

"_Beach balls!"_

"…"

"_Beach balls?" Usopp asked again_

"_They're not here!"_

"_What? I could have sworn I packed them!" Usopp exclaimed rummaging through the pile_

"_Maybe we left them in the bedroom?" Chopper suggested_

"_Yeah!" Luffy agreed_

"_Okay I'll go back and get them," Usopp said heading for the door "You guys start getting everything set up. I'll be right back!" He turned and smiled at them one last time "Let's make today unforgettable!"_

There he was. Just as Zoro had said he would be. There he was, lying in a pool of blood completely motionless…lifeless…

Luffy ran to him, his heart pounding hard in his chest. Without even realizing he was crying he threw himself to his knees besides his nakama.

"Usopp!" Luffy choked

He wasn't prepared for this. How could anyone be prepared for this? Of course he had believed Zoro when he told him that Usopp was dead. But only now, holding his nakama's lifeless blood -soaked body in his arms, did Usopp's death become real. He had no idea what to do.

His nakama had been taken away from him. Usually when that happened Luffy would fight with all his heart and soul to bring them back, but this was different…This time, he knew, there wasn't anything he could do. Because-

you can't bring back the dead.

"GAHHH!" Luffy sobbed violently into his brother's shoulder

"You idiot! You're not allowed to die!" Luffy choked; his cries muffled by the liar's cold shoulder. "You promised you would never leave us again!"

Luffy had never cried so much in his life.

He held on to his beloved crewmate for dear life, never wanting to let go. He wasn't ready to let go. He wasn't ready to live in a world without him. He wanted to return to yesterday, when Sanji had finally got his hair back to normal after Usopp had put blue dye into his shampoo- making the blond's hair turn green. Or- or last week, when he put colorless hard candies in the showerhead so that when Zoro took a shower after his work out, he came out all sticky!

Thinking of these memories, Luffy was briefly able to smile through his grief- …that is -until he realized,

Usopp would never pull another prank. He would never tell another lie. He would never laugh again.

He's gone.

"AAAAHHHHHGGG!"

Luffy let out agonizing cry that echoed across the ocean.

It hurt! It hurt so much! Never before had Luffy ever felt such terrible pain. He knew it would hurt. People always told him how painful it is to lose the people you love. But this, this ache in his heart, he had never experienced anything like this. He had been stabbed, beaten, frozen, impaled, poisoned, he knew all kinds of pain. This was beyond pain! This … this was … despair…

It had to be ….because all he could do was hold his nakama close and cry.

…..

Luffy didn't know, nor did he care how long he stayed like that, holding his nakama in his arms. Somehow he had managed to stop crying, he didn't think that was possible.

Thunder rumble above them, as dark clouds conceal the mid-morning sun.

It began to rain.

Finally pulling away from the sniper's chest, Luffy looked up at the sky.

"Looks like we won't be having our pool party today" Luffy joked sadly with a lump in his throat.

Luffy closed his eyes as heaven tears fell upon his face. He never understood how rain works, and honestly he didn't want to know. The world is full of magic tricks, and like ordinary magic tricks, if you figure out how they work they won't be magical anymore.

Luffy looked back down at the fallen companion in his arms. He quickly glanced at his nakama's face before looking elsewhere. If he looked any longer he wouldn't be able to keep himself from crying… and he really, really didn't want to cry anymore. Luffy swallowed painfully

"We should get inside"

With that, Luffy stood-up holding the limp sniper in his arms. He walked off the deck where his friend's blood was already being wash away by the rain.

Luffy tried not to think about how cold he felt, as he made his way across the lawn. He tried not to think about how pale he was, as he climbed the stairs. He tried not to think about anything that would make him breakdown again. He was already starting to feel sick from crying so much.

Thinking that this was the right place to go, Luffy opened the door to the infirmary, then closed it shut behind him. Luffy pulled back the blankets on the bed and gently laid down his nakama, as if he was merely sleeping. Without really thinking about what he was doing, Luffy went to pull the covers over him so he wouldn't be so cold. He had only pull the sheet up to his chin and was about to let go- when he remembered. Usopp wasn't sleeping… he was dead.

It couldn't be helped; Luffy could no longer hold back his tears as he pulled the sheet over his nakama's face, before he fell into a chair and wept.


	4. Rain

Sorry for the lack of update, college is tougher than I thought. I'm having trouble figuring out a way to end this without pissing people off. So if anyone has any suggestions let me know. To my own horror, I'm being to show signs of writer's block. God damn it. Any help would be appreciated. Don't worry though. I have a few more chapters already written so I can still update, but maybe not as often as I thought. I want to space them out 'cause I don't want to be one of those people that neglects a story for years and leaves all those great reviewers hanging. But that's enough about that. The story continues...

_Rain_

Obeying his captain's orders, Zoro shut the door. He turned and faced his grieving family. Robin had taken his spot in the back of the room, and was quietly staring out at nothing, apparently in deep thought. She had stopped crying… for now. So had Sanji, in fact now that he was in the kitchen he was finding things to keep him busy. Right now he seemed to be getting water for everyone. Whenever someone said they didn't want any, he placed a glass on the table in case they changed their mind. Nami had been one of the few who declined Sanji's offer; probably because she was also busy. She sat at the end of the table holding a bawling reindeer against her chest trying unsuccessfully to calm him down. A few chairs down from her sat Brooke who, when offered a glass of water, asked the cook if there was anything he could do to help. Zoro knew the musician hated it when things got too quiet, the lack of noise would drive him crazy soon if didn't find anything to distract him. Zoro didn't blame him-fifty years of isolation does that to you.

"Umm.." Sanji scanned his kitchen, trying to find something for Brooke to do. The counters were clean-as always, he had just finished passing out the water, and there were no dirty dishes- but he could make some!

"Would anybody like breakfast?" Sanji asked trying to bring some form of normality back into their lives, while at the same time praying that someone would give him something to do.

"Pff"

Zoro looked over at Franky who was lying on the red cushioned bench across from the kitchen, "Why is it that whenever somebody dies, there always has to be food?" Franky commented, not realizing he was saying it out loud.

The incredibly frank rudeness of the comment caused the whole room to turn silent. He quickly apologized "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out-"

"It's because when a loved one dies, the family of the deceased is usually so busy making funeral arrangements, they forget to eat. Therefore in order to aid the family in their time of need neighbors bring them food to give them one less thing to worry about." Robin said automatically.

A moment of awkward silence followed.

"I'm not hungry" Nami muttered resting her head against Choppers pink hat.

"Me neither" Chopper said not having enough energy to cry anymore.

"I'll pass" Franky answered.

"I don't have much of a stomach this morning" Brooke said "Then again I don't have much of a stomach any morning! Because I don't have organs since I'm already dea- !" Brooke stopped himself. Joking about death didn't seem like a very sensible thing to do today. Instead he coughed awkwardly.

"Robin-chan would like anything this morning?" Sanji asked trying to avoid another uncomfortable silence.

"No thank you, Sanji" Robin said politely.

...

"I'll have something."

Sanji looked at Zoro.

"…I don't care what it is … Make whatever the hell you want." Zoro said indifferently, looking elsewhere.

Sanji studied the swordsman for a minute, before turning back to the sink. "Fine"

Then Sanji threw something at him, which he easily caught. It was a damp dish towel.

"But wash your hands" Sanji glared at him.

Zoro looked at his hands and saw what the cook meant. His arms and hands were stained with Usopp's blood…He'd forgotten about that.

Zoro got to work on scrubbing the blood off his hands, it took a while to get off since it been on him for so long, but still it wasn't as bad as it could be. Nevertheless, the amount of time it took for him to get his hands clean didn't go unnoticed since everyone was watching him.

Yet, Zoro was the only one who noticed the chief throwing away the bloody -though perfectly reusable dish towel.

After Zoro dried his hands he took a seat at the table, while Sanji started cooking.

But Sanji did not forget about Brooke.

"Oi Brooke"

The skeleton faced him "Yes?"

"Could you get the paprika? It's in the left cabinet. "

"Oh! Hai!" Brooke hurried over to help "This one?" He asked as he opened the cabinet.

"Yeah that one." Sanji told him as he pulled more ingredients from the fridge "It should be behind the cinnamon."

"Oh here it is! Got it!"

"Put that by the stove and get the frying pan, it should be in the cabinet on the left."

Sanji continue to keep Brooke involved in helping him create a dish that typically takes a long time to make.

"It's going to rain." Nami said to no one in particular.

Zoro looked at her.

"When?" he asked.

"…Now" Just after she said that, they heard thunder boom in the distance.

"Is there going to be a storm?" Zoro asked her.

"…It's too early to be certain, but I doubt it though. Why?"

Zoro stared at the door.

Nami followed his gaze, "He'll be fine" she told him as if she read his mind.

…

"So" Franky looked Zoro in the eye "Who did it?"

The room suddenly got very quiet.

"…."

"….I don't know" Zoro answered.

"What did they look like?" Franky asked.

"I don't know" Zoro answered looking away.

"What do you mean you don't know what they look like?" Franky asked growing more and more intense "Weren't you suppose to be on watch this morning? Where were you when it happened?"

"Franky-" Brooke tried but Sanji stopped him. He too wanted to know how something like this could happen on Zoro's watch.

"Where the hell were you?"

"I was standing right beside him." Zoro looked at Franky.

"…"

"Wait – let me get this straight." Franky sat up "You were standing right next to him when he got shot, and YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE BASTARDS LOOK LIKE ?" Frank roared incredulously "What were they invisible or something?"

"I didn't see anything" Zoro told him trying to remain calm.

"Well at least tell us which direction the damn gunshots came from!"

"There was only shot and I didn't hear it."

"One shot?" Franky asked skeptically "That's it? No battle?" Zoro shook his head "You expect us to believe that after all the shit he lived through, after getting this far, that HE WENT DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT?"

Franky's words seemed to echo throughout the room. Franky himself was breathing heavily. Then he asked in the calmest voice he could muster in his rage "And you didn't hear anything?"

"No"

Franky looked away and shook his head then he said rather scornfully "It doesn't matter if you heard it or not"

Zoro looked at him.

"-you would have given us the wrong directions anyway!"

**SLAM**

Zoro had Franky pinned against the wall, instantly.

"What did you say?" Zoro growled.

"Oh, you didn't hear that either?" Franky mocked.

**BAM**

Zoro punched Franky straight in the face. He punched him so hard he left a dent deep into the wall behind Franky's head- which (needless to say) seriously pissed the shipwright off.

"YOU BASTARD" Franky roared grabbing Zoro's forearms "DON'T DAMAGE MY SHIP!" and flung him onto the table knocking pitchers of water and empty glass to the floor shattering them completely. Nami sprang from her seat as Chopper shiver in her arms terrified and confused at what

was happening to their nakama.

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!" Zoro yelled sitting up.

"OH IT'S THE SAME SUBJECT! RORONOA ZORO IS A HOPELESS FUCKING DUMB ASS!"

Zoro launched himself off the table and plowed into Franky with so much force they crashed through the door, though the railing into the pouring rain and onto the grassy deck below. Once again Zoro had him pinned.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" Zoro growled.

"Get off ME!" Franky snarled trying to push him off.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?" Zoro's eyes pierced right into those of the glaring cyborg's.

"TELL ME FRANKY WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR NAKAMA DIE RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES?" Franky stopped struggling. But Zoro continued to scream over the raging thunder "STOP PRETENDING THAT YOU KNOW EVERYTHING BECAUSE YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW ME AND IF YOU THINK FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND THAT USOPP DIED WITHOUT PUTTING UP A FIGHT THEN YOU SURE AS FUCKING HELL DIDN'T KNOW HIM EITHER!"

"Heh…Heh…"Breathing heavily, Zoro stared down at the bewildered cyborg for a moment, before finally getting off him. He needed to calm down. Franky was just looking for someone to blame, it was completely understandable. Hell there wasn't a soul on this ship that didn't want the same thing. But he'd be damned if he was going to let some emotionally unstable pervert provoke him into taking his own frustrations out on a fellow nakama!

He needed compose himself. He held his breath for one second, then two seconds -

_just keep holding your breath for two seconds okay?"_

_Usopp nodded and began holding his breath. _

"_That's it…Just keep breathing"_

-Shit-

Screw it! He'd had enough of this! He already told them everything he knew! There was no reason for him to be there!

So without a word, Zoro walked away.

The shipwright continued to lie there bewildered in the pouring rain. Franky didn't know if it was what Zoro had said that surprised him the most, or if it was how much Zoro trembled when he said it.

Either way, Franky was far from finished with him.

As Zoro walked towards the men's quarters, Franky got to his feet. Just as his hand touched the handle, Franky, in a cold voice that was too low for anyone on the upper deck to hear, asked him one last question:

"If he was still fighting to stay alive then why didn't you get him help instead of standing back and watching him die?"

Zoro froze. His eyes widened. He gripped the handle so hard he could feel the metal denting from underneath his fingers. His whole body began to tremble has he fought to restrain what vicious instincts began to rage inside him.

That. Bastard.

Zoro could feel his blood begin to boil in his veins.

He gritted his teeth. He wanted to rip that ignorant bastard's tongue right out of his head and shove it down his throat!

That. _Fucking._ Bastard!

"**ERRAAH!"**

Zoro wrenched the door open and SLAMMED it shut behind him.


	5. We Find Them

Hello everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've been working on my other story, a Harry Potter fic called _**One Hell of a Night**_(please check it out!). I want to make sure I finish this story with the same passion and attention I had when I started writing it (nearly 2 years ago) so forgive me if it takes a while. As always I love reviews – they are what inspire me to keep writing so please take a moment an tell me anything. What you think may happen, what you want to have happen, what I can do to improve the story. At this point, the villain's character is still very flexible so if you have any suggestions about that let me know. I take all my reviews into consideration. So anyway, enough rambling and onto the story.

_We Find Them_

**BAM**

Luffy's head shot up and over to the short-cut-door that connected the infirmary to the dining room. Was that a gunshot? Luffy sprang out of Chopper's favorite rolling chair, and headed for the door. But right before he was about to rip it open he heard yelling.

"YOU BASTARD DON'T DAMAGE MY SHIP!"

Followed by a thud and what sounded like glass breaking.

"DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!"

"OH IT'S THE SAME SUBJECT! RORONOA ZORO I S A HOPELESS FUCKING DUMB ASS!"

_CRASH!_

Luffy anxiously ripped open the door and ran inside. Everyone was gathering by a giant hole in the wall where the kitchen door use to be. Luffy was about to ask them what was going on but stopped when he heard more yelling this time coming from the deck.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"

That was Zoro.

"Get off ME!"

And…Franky? It was kind of hard to hear over the thunder.

"Damn it! What the fuck is Franky doing?" Sanji exclaimed running out after them.

"Sanji-kun-!" Nami started to say when he rushed past her

"Oi!" Sanji called leaping off the deck, but his voice was drowned out by thunder- they didn't hear him.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?

Luffy walked up behind the crew to see what was happening on the deck below.

The second Sanji's feet hit the ground he dash towards the struggle ready to end the fight himself.

"TELL ME FRANKY WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR NAKAMA DIE RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES?"

Sanji stopped what he was doing - as did the rest of the crew.

"STOP PRETENDING THAT YOU KNOW EVERYTHING BECAUSE YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW ME AND IF YOU THINK FOR ONE FUCKING SECOND THAT USOPP DIED WITHOUT PUTTING UP A FIGHT THEN YOU SURE AS FUCKING HELL DIDN'T KNOW HIM EITHER!

"…"

No one spoke. Not even Luffy could find the will to say anything as he watched his first-mate get up off the cyborg. After a taking a moment to catch his breath, the swordsman turned away from them and walked across the lawn to the other side of the ship.

"…Zoro…" Chopper sniffed with watery eyes as he watched his nakama walk away.

"Zoro-san" Brooke said sadly.

Luffy looked back at Franky.

Franky got to his feet, and turned to Zoro. He must have said something to Zoro to keep him from going inside, because the swordsman didn't open the door. In fact he just stood there with his hand on the handle, like he wasn't sure if he even wanted to go inside.

"What did he say?" Luffy asked from behind Nami.

"I don't know I couldn't hear over the thunder." She answered automatically, without realizing who she was talking to. Robin, however, spared him a glance. Then replied to him:

"I think he said-"

"**ERRAAH!"**

"AH!" Chopper shrieked jumping out of Nami's arms and onto her back. The others too, recoil at the sudden sound of Zoro's impulsive cry.

He ripped open the door (practically severing it from its hinges) and wrenched it shut with so much forced the door itself splintered.

SLAM!

…

_That_ had startled the _HELL _out of them.

They were still staring flabbergasted at the now splintered door when they heard another furious cry

crescendoing from down below.

"_Yooou_ BASTARD!"

"Hm?" Franky turned around.

**BAM**

Sanji kicked the cyborg right in the face with his bare foot sending his metal ass flying across the deck and over the railing.

_SPLASH_

"Franky!" Chopper cried out in alarm.

"Heh… heh…" Sanji panted.

"Oi! Sanji! What are you doing?" Luffy yelled.

"What did he do to-?...eh?" Nami stopped, noticing Luffy for the first time.

"_**WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?"**_ Brooke, Nami, and Chopper cried out in utter surprised.

Luffy ignored them and jumped off the deck.

"Why did you kick him?" Luffy asked as he marched over to the chef.

There was a faint _STRONG RIGHT_, and Franky's hand appeared from over the railing.

"Oi!" Luffy shouted when he didn't get an answer.

Franky pulled the rest of him onto the side of the ship.

Luffy grabbed Sanji's arm, and asked him again.

"W-"

"_HOW DARE YOU!"_ Sanji growled, glowering at Franky as if he had just hit a woman.

Sanji stomped up to him as he tried to yank Luffy off his arm.

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING SAYING SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"

"Hmff" Franky folded his arms and narrowed his eyes at the cook.

"All I did was asked him the question that everyone else was afraid to ask."

"Afraid to ask? You shitty bastard! All you were trying to do was make it look like it was his fault!"

Sanji accused.

"Maybe it was!" the shipwright snapped back.

"What?" Sanji pushed Luffy away and grabbed Franky by the collar of his shirt "YOU BASTARD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT GUY IS WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR ANY ONE US?"

"I'm not saying he isn't noble, I'm saying he's an idiot!" Franky argued "If this was any other day you would be agreeing with me!"

"Yeah, you're right! He is an idiot! But there will **NEVER** be a day where Roronoa Zoro '_stands back and watches his nakama die'_!" Sanji spat.

"What?" Luffy said incredulously.

"That's what this idiot thinks he did!" Sanji told Luffy.

Franky looked away. After hearing it put that way, he could see how he might have gone a little too far with his accusations. He could already feel the disgusting feeling of regret beginning to eat at him. Shit. Once again he had let his emotions get the better of him and lashed out and did something rash and pointless. One would think a head-on collision with a seatrain would have done _something_ to knock some sense into him.

Reluctantly Franky looked back at his captain.

Luffy was gaping at him, completely at a loss for words.

"Are you retarded?"

(Okay maybe not completely)

"I trust Zoro with my life! He would never do anything like that!" Luffy shouted with unquestionable faith. – -He looked Franky in the eyes. "And I trust you too!" He said seriously

…

"- even though you're retarded."

Sanji glance back over his shoulder to see the rest of the crew approaching them. He let out a breath and let Fanky go. Putting his hands in his pockets, Sanji turned to face his captain as the rest of his nakama arrived just in time to hear Luffy declare

"I trust all of you. And I love all of you. We're family. So don't think we're going to let you doubt any of us so easily." Luffy warned him. Then Luffy did the most incredible thing of all. He smiled. Sure it was small, but it was incredibly warm."Got it?" he asked.

And just like that the tension was gone. Luffy's words had washed it all away and everyone felt it.

Franky's eyes softened. "Got it."

"Is everything alright, now?" Robin asked from under an umbrella.

Luffy turned at the sound of her voice "Yeah it's cool" he answered her still smiling.

"Thank goodness" Chopper sighed, still clinging onto Nami's back.

Nami turned to Sanji.

"What was that about?" Nami-san asked him.

Sanji glanced back at Franky, they met each other's eyes briefly, before Sanji looked away. "Nothing" he said as he walked over to her. The chivalrous cook took the umbrella off her hands and held it over her lovely form.

"Thank you Sanji-kun" she said staring at the ground. "…So…"

"Hm?" Luffy turned to Nami.

She looked up to him, and in a small voice, asked the captain of the Strawhats the question that has given them more guidance than any compass, log post, or map ever had;

"Now what do we do?"

The crew turned to him anticipating his answer and awaiting his orders.

Luffy put his hand on his hat, "We do what we always do." He told them simply

"We move forward."

Luffy turned to Nami "How long 'till we get to the next island?" he asked impatiently

"Ah- we should be there by tomorrow afternoon. But what about-?" Nami started

"Then it's decided. Tomorrow we begin looking for the ones responsible!" Luffy declared

"Mmm" the crew nodded.

Luffy walked off towards the kitchen.

"**And we find them!**" he yelled back.


End file.
